But no one warned him that he could go blind. He ignored what began as a blurred vision about four years ago and the 61-year-old is now left with only a tiny perception of light.

“If he had controlled it properly and gone to eye doctors about 10 years ago, this blindness would not have been necessary,” said eye surgeon Shivaram K V, who advised Mahadevappa to undergo surgery, which could restore some vision in his right eye, allowing him to be able to clothe and feed himself. His left eye can no longer be salvaged.

India carries the highest diabetes burden in the world, with 41 million cases in 2007, a number estimated to hit 70 million by 2025 if nothing is done to reverse the trend, warns the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF).

Subscribe to The China Post and save.  Click here

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 1000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos Respond to this email